Kim’s Dad, my brother Jay, decided to shave his head as Kim was losing her hair! He has always been a great support to Kim and wonderful Dad! Jay and Kim on one of his many trips to Temple!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
June 11, 2009
This week has been an interesting one! Kim will have her last day of chemo for round three tomorrow. Met with the Doctor today and he has decided that chemo will continue as it has on three days on week and off two weeks. He does however want to start radiation along with chemo; radiation will be everyday for fifteen minutes for six-weeks straight. He also said we will be doing the CT scan one day this week…So we will do this and keep strong! Pray that Kim will keep her faith and strength to continue to fight and pray that the CT scan will show improvement, at least no spreading of the cancer.
Kim is so excited about the blog page I am setting up for her and thrilled and touched (tears) when I explained to her how many were praying for her just through the weekly e-mails and how many want to respond encouraging messages to her. So I explained getting the blog up so all this can happen as well as the bracelets. Just so you all will know we have decided on “FIGHT FOR BARRE” will be the blog domain/name and the theme to all we do. (Bracelets, t-shirts). She loved this all and therefore we will go forth! Notice the attached picture…he has her checks!!! J
I have a friend that has a foundation already thought has been up and running for years. In early spring I was asked to be a part of this foundation which meant a lot to me. Tackle Cancer Foundation was founded by former NFL player Eli Alexander and he too has cancer and is a success story within it’s self. He is a great motivation to all and wonderful person and friend. He is happy to have us put Tackle Cancer Foundation.com on the other side of the bracelets so this helps us get the word out about not only his story and Kim’s but others. The foundation helps families that have kids with pediatric cancer (where my heart is) as well as families that have a parent with cancer with their finances as they go through treatments and travel for treatments. The foundation is growing and I am blessed to know and be a small part of this foundation. Sometimes I think GOD put us together for a reason…
Now, baby Barrett is doing great! We all call him Barre and he is so strong and handsome! I must say he is such a precious one and I do believe he knows me know when he hears my voice! LOL He had an eye appointment last week and all checked out…Continue prayers that he too will continue to grow strong and healthy and continues to amaze us with his health!
Kim is so excited about the blog page I am setting up for her and thrilled and touched (tears) when I explained to her how many were praying for her just through the weekly e-mails and how many want to respond encouraging messages to her. So I explained getting the blog up so all this can happen as well as the bracelets. Just so you all will know we have decided on “FIGHT FOR BARRE” will be the blog domain/name and the theme to all we do. (Bracelets, t-shirts). She loved this all and therefore we will go forth! Notice the attached picture…he has her checks!!! J
I have a friend that has a foundation already thought has been up and running for years. In early spring I was asked to be a part of this foundation which meant a lot to me. Tackle Cancer Foundation was founded by former NFL player Eli Alexander and he too has cancer and is a success story within it’s self. He is a great motivation to all and wonderful person and friend. He is happy to have us put Tackle Cancer Foundation.com on the other side of the bracelets so this helps us get the word out about not only his story and Kim’s but others. The foundation helps families that have kids with pediatric cancer (where my heart is) as well as families that have a parent with cancer with their finances as they go through treatments and travel for treatments. The foundation is growing and I am blessed to know and be a small part of this foundation. Sometimes I think GOD put us together for a reason…
Now, baby Barrett is doing great! We all call him Barre and he is so strong and handsome! I must say he is such a precious one and I do believe he knows me know when he hears my voice! LOL He had an eye appointment last week and all checked out…Continue prayers that he too will continue to grow strong and healthy and continues to amaze us with his health!
June 4, 2009
Well we had a great time with Kim and Barrett! Attached are pictures of Andra and Barrett, Aunt Aprile and Barrett, and Kim and Barrett! As you can see he just doesn’t get enough of kisses and holding time! I will admit I let him take many naps in my arms and Andra seemed to take over if I wasn’t holding him! OOPS!!!
Barrett is such a good baby and I do know that GOD is taking care of him. Thanks to you all as well for all the prayers for Barrett as you can see your hard work has paid off! He is adorable and has started smiling a little which is great! Continue to pray that Barrett will continue to grow strong and be a good baby for Kim.
Kim has Barrett are on such a great routine and she is such a wonderful Mom! She still gets tired but insist on doing the late feedings. She says that is their time together when they can just sit and talk alone without any interruptions. Then the early AM is when I got my time and it was great so she could get some hours of straight sleep and I got a lot of kisses and smiles and cuddle time! I LOVED every minute of it! Kim will start her third round of chemo June 8th and then a CT Scan is planned and Dr. Capen is already talking about radiation on the tumor. We will know more details after the CT scan. Continue to pray that the cancer has not spread and the tumor will shrink. Pray for Kim to have continued support and strength through all the treatments and the will to fight this cancer. As we all know, having a newborn is hard enough on hormones and sleep patterns much less adding cancer and chemo into the mix.
She plans to come stay with us in Dallas so her and Barre can have some time away and a small vacation; yes I am so excited and plan on spoiling the both of them! I am already getting their room ready! LOL
Still working on getting the BLOG up and going and I have ordered bracelets to wear that say “FIGHT FOR BARRE”, they are zebra bracelets for us to wear and to help remind Kim what she is fighting for! Encouragement and positive attitudes is what she wants to have surrounding her!
Thank you all and I can see that all your prayers are working and GOD is with us, you can feel it…
Barrett is such a good baby and I do know that GOD is taking care of him. Thanks to you all as well for all the prayers for Barrett as you can see your hard work has paid off! He is adorable and has started smiling a little which is great! Continue to pray that Barrett will continue to grow strong and be a good baby for Kim.
Kim has Barrett are on such a great routine and she is such a wonderful Mom! She still gets tired but insist on doing the late feedings. She says that is their time together when they can just sit and talk alone without any interruptions. Then the early AM is when I got my time and it was great so she could get some hours of straight sleep and I got a lot of kisses and smiles and cuddle time! I LOVED every minute of it! Kim will start her third round of chemo June 8th and then a CT Scan is planned and Dr. Capen is already talking about radiation on the tumor. We will know more details after the CT scan. Continue to pray that the cancer has not spread and the tumor will shrink. Pray for Kim to have continued support and strength through all the treatments and the will to fight this cancer. As we all know, having a newborn is hard enough on hormones and sleep patterns much less adding cancer and chemo into the mix.
She plans to come stay with us in Dallas so her and Barre can have some time away and a small vacation; yes I am so excited and plan on spoiling the both of them! I am already getting their room ready! LOL
Still working on getting the BLOG up and going and I have ordered bracelets to wear that say “FIGHT FOR BARRE”, they are zebra bracelets for us to wear and to help remind Kim what she is fighting for! Encouragement and positive attitudes is what she wants to have surrounding her!
Thank you all and I can see that all your prayers are working and GOD is with us, you can feel it…
May 26, 2009
To all my prayer warrior friends, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, so much for all the continued prayers!
As you can tell by the photo attached, Mr. Barrett is looking GREAT!!! (notice his little overalls) He went home last Thursday, May 21st, 2009 and he decided to start opening his eyes a lot to see what is going on and who everyone is! He is adorable and a good baby boy! Continue to pray for his strength and growth!
Kim, finished her second round of chemo last Thursday, May 22nd and started feeling the effects immediately! The effects were very harsh and severe for her this time. She couldn’t take care of Barrett for the first few days but by Sunday, she was able to do a lot with him. It really upset her but now they are really making up for it. He lays on her chest a lot and she is such a great mom!
Her next round will be in two weeks then the CT scan…pray for her strength and continued will to fight, and pray the chemo is doing its job in shrinking the tumor and prevention of cancer spreading.
I will be helping out next week spending some girl time with Kim and getting baby kisses from Barrett! J
As you can tell by the photo attached, Mr. Barrett is looking GREAT!!! (notice his little overalls) He went home last Thursday, May 21st, 2009 and he decided to start opening his eyes a lot to see what is going on and who everyone is! He is adorable and a good baby boy! Continue to pray for his strength and growth!
Kim, finished her second round of chemo last Thursday, May 22nd and started feeling the effects immediately! The effects were very harsh and severe for her this time. She couldn’t take care of Barrett for the first few days but by Sunday, she was able to do a lot with him. It really upset her but now they are really making up for it. He lays on her chest a lot and she is such a great mom!
Her next round will be in two weeks then the CT scan…pray for her strength and continued will to fight, and pray the chemo is doing its job in shrinking the tumor and prevention of cancer spreading.
I will be helping out next week spending some girl time with Kim and getting baby kisses from Barrett! J
May 18, 2009
As you can see Barrett is filling out wonderfully and is right at 5pounds and he is going home Thursday, May 21st! He will be a month old on May 22nd! Good Job Barrett! I appreciate all the prayers for him and please pray he will continue to grow strong and healthy! Thank you GOD for Barrett’s progress and all the prayers from wonderful friends near and far!
Kim has started her second round of chemo today, May 19, 2009 and it will be an eight hour round very long compared to the first rounds.
She has had her wig for a week now and it looks fabulous on her! It is amazing how close it looks to how her real hair was. What a great service the cancer foundation offers for cancer patients, wonderful service. I have attached a picture of Kim and Barrett. Continue to pray for her strength and will through all of her treatments as well as a cure. She is such a wonderful positive mom!
I appreciate you all sharing this journey with us and your prayers are so powerful and give us such strength! Please continue and I love you all and even those of you that are praying for Kim and Barrett that I haven’t even met, thank you.
Kim has started her second round of chemo today, May 19, 2009 and it will be an eight hour round very long compared to the first rounds.
She has had her wig for a week now and it looks fabulous on her! It is amazing how close it looks to how her real hair was. What a great service the cancer foundation offers for cancer patients, wonderful service. I have attached a picture of Kim and Barrett. Continue to pray for her strength and will through all of her treatments as well as a cure. She is such a wonderful positive mom!
I appreciate you all sharing this journey with us and your prayers are so powerful and give us such strength! Please continue and I love you all and even those of you that are praying for Kim and Barrett that I haven’t even met, thank you.
May 11, 2009
Well we had a good week last week, as Barrett is now weighing 4lbs and 4 oz!!! They took all tubes out this weekend and he is doing great! The only thing is they are trying to get him out of the incubator and he isn’t holding his temp where it needs to be on his own, so he is still in the incubator. We will pray that he continues to get stronger and his temps will regulate and his weight gain will continue.
Kim had a great first Mother’s Day with Barrett yesterday and is still staying at the Ronald McDonald house, very convenient just across the street from hospital. She was a little shocked that her hair did start coming out so soon. As we all thought, it would happen after her second treatment, but her chemo dosages are very strong so perhaps that is why it is already. She is very open to having a wig and will meet with the lady that does this for cancer patients! We are trying to decide if blondes do have more fun and maybe she should try blonde! Our way of joking! Reality hit her as to what is going on and she knows she wants to fight for Barre. I am proud of her attitude and although she has her days of reality and what is happening to her, she seems to pull herself up. Kim told me this weekend she was really just ready to get the chemo going and really “tackle” this and the waiting is hard. With that said chemo starts early next week so she is looking forward to having a good week this week since the tiredness has subsided and she feels as close to normal as can be expected.
Thank you all and continue to pray that GOD will grace Kim with strength and the will to fight as well as help her not fear what is ahead of her.
Kim had a great first Mother’s Day with Barrett yesterday and is still staying at the Ronald McDonald house, very convenient just across the street from hospital. She was a little shocked that her hair did start coming out so soon. As we all thought, it would happen after her second treatment, but her chemo dosages are very strong so perhaps that is why it is already. She is very open to having a wig and will meet with the lady that does this for cancer patients! We are trying to decide if blondes do have more fun and maybe she should try blonde! Our way of joking! Reality hit her as to what is going on and she knows she wants to fight for Barre. I am proud of her attitude and although she has her days of reality and what is happening to her, she seems to pull herself up. Kim told me this weekend she was really just ready to get the chemo going and really “tackle” this and the waiting is hard. With that said chemo starts early next week so she is looking forward to having a good week this week since the tiredness has subsided and she feels as close to normal as can be expected.
Thank you all and continue to pray that GOD will grace Kim with strength and the will to fight as well as help her not fear what is ahead of her.
May 4, 2009
Kim finished her first treatment on Sunday, April 26th and was feeling pretty good. The doctors released her Tuesday, April 28th, and she moved into the McDonald house to be close to the Barrett and to be treated as an outpatient. Getting out and moving around helped her a lot, but on Thursday, April 30th her birthday, the chemo decided to hit her. Food tasted different and then she felt so tired and very sick to stomach. Karen, her mom, gave her meds for the side effects which in return “knocked” her out; so a double edged sword.
But the decision was to go ahead and have her baby shower as planned on Saturday, May 2nd, she was determined to go. Saturday came and the chemo effects had subsided all except for the tiredness. But, she looked great and laughed and had a great time with her friends and family! Great turnout and so many great things for baby Barrett! It was a good day for us all including Kim to just think about Barrett and cute baby things!
Her next round will be May 15th for three days…I will go in and stay with Kim at McDonald house so Karen can go home some and have time to do things around her home and perhaps take a deep breath as well. Andra will probably join us as so we can all have some girl time!
As for Barrett, he is doing great so great they had to start giving him more formula! He is so precious and I got to hold him and he only has one tube left! He got very comfortable with me as I was talking to him and telling him all about things that he opened his eyes and looked at me, and then he “pooped”! And yes, I got to change him! I was nervous since it has been awhile and he is so tiny but the nurse supervised me! LOL Well we had a bonding moment regardless…
As you can see by the picture attached… he has me around his little finger and then some...
Please continue all the prayers that Kim stays strong in her fight as in her faith and that Barrett will continue to grow strong for us and surround them both with God’s grace and love!
But the decision was to go ahead and have her baby shower as planned on Saturday, May 2nd, she was determined to go. Saturday came and the chemo effects had subsided all except for the tiredness. But, she looked great and laughed and had a great time with her friends and family! Great turnout and so many great things for baby Barrett! It was a good day for us all including Kim to just think about Barrett and cute baby things!
Her next round will be May 15th for three days…I will go in and stay with Kim at McDonald house so Karen can go home some and have time to do things around her home and perhaps take a deep breath as well. Andra will probably join us as so we can all have some girl time!
As for Barrett, he is doing great so great they had to start giving him more formula! He is so precious and I got to hold him and he only has one tube left! He got very comfortable with me as I was talking to him and telling him all about things that he opened his eyes and looked at me, and then he “pooped”! And yes, I got to change him! I was nervous since it has been awhile and he is so tiny but the nurse supervised me! LOL Well we had a bonding moment regardless…
As you can see by the picture attached… he has me around his little finger and then some...
Please continue all the prayers that Kim stays strong in her fight as in her faith and that Barrett will continue to grow strong for us and surround them both with God’s grace and love!
April 26, 2009
My 24 year old niece Kimberly is from Lampasas, Texas and she was 7 months pregnant, when we found out that she has small cell cancer in the cervix which is a rare and aggressive cancer therefore, the baby had to be taken immediately. This was last Monday, so I dropped everything and went to Temple Texas at Scott & White to be with my brother and niece. The baby was born Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by c-section. Barrett Jay weighs 3lbs 11 oz and is 15 1/2 inches long and is doing great! The doctors at Scott & White have a team on him and he is in NICU but they are so pleased with his progress. He didn’t require a breathing tube and is breathing on his own with oxygen mask to help make sure his lungs are at full capacity. Barrett took his first bottle Friday and it is amazing he is already doing that! I believe GOD is taking care of him and he is a strong Shaw baby! And of course he has stolen my heart! My request is to pray that he will continue to grow strong for us and his mom Kimberly!
Kim is a different story, the next day on Thursday they did a pet-scan on Kim and put her port in to prepare for her chemo treatments to start on Friday. The Dr. Capen, oncologist, was very honest with us and right to the point of the results. The cancer is in her cervix and pelvic lymph nodes but had not spread to any organs. He explained the cancer is aggressive and that her tumor is 6 inches which is very large. There is no cure for this cancer but there is treatment for the cancer. The plan is to do three rounds (nine weeks) of chemo and radiation and then do a ct-scan to see where we are. Survival rate is low but since she is young we are all being very strong in faith and in the fight. Dr. Capen just reminds us that this is her fight with him and they are going to go at this as aggressively as he can and perhaps we will be a success rate for this type of cancer. My request is to pray to give Kim the strength and will to fight this cancer so she can raise baby Barrett. She is already a great mom with all the pain she has been in.
The Ronald McDonald House has been amazing to all of us! They have set up rooms for family to stay while Barrett is in the hospital and when Kim gets out of the hospital to do her treatments as an outpatient; as long as the baby is at Scott & White they have set Kim and her mom a room up there so she can be close to him. They are great and I never realized just how great until last week! The support and love they have given to us has been so touching especially when you’re out of town and tired.
I have sent a picture of Barrett holding his Aunt Aprile’s finger and my brother’s hand! I just love them both and pray for a cure. We are all wearing zebra ribbons since cervical cancer is teal blue and zebra.
Again, to all my prayer warrior friends, pray for Kim and Barrett and feel free to add her to any prayer list you’re a part of. I do believe prayer and faith makes one stronger during the fight and cures many!
Kim is a different story, the next day on Thursday they did a pet-scan on Kim and put her port in to prepare for her chemo treatments to start on Friday. The Dr. Capen, oncologist, was very honest with us and right to the point of the results. The cancer is in her cervix and pelvic lymph nodes but had not spread to any organs. He explained the cancer is aggressive and that her tumor is 6 inches which is very large. There is no cure for this cancer but there is treatment for the cancer. The plan is to do three rounds (nine weeks) of chemo and radiation and then do a ct-scan to see where we are. Survival rate is low but since she is young we are all being very strong in faith and in the fight. Dr. Capen just reminds us that this is her fight with him and they are going to go at this as aggressively as he can and perhaps we will be a success rate for this type of cancer. My request is to pray to give Kim the strength and will to fight this cancer so she can raise baby Barrett. She is already a great mom with all the pain she has been in.
The Ronald McDonald House has been amazing to all of us! They have set up rooms for family to stay while Barrett is in the hospital and when Kim gets out of the hospital to do her treatments as an outpatient; as long as the baby is at Scott & White they have set Kim and her mom a room up there so she can be close to him. They are great and I never realized just how great until last week! The support and love they have given to us has been so touching especially when you’re out of town and tired.
I have sent a picture of Barrett holding his Aunt Aprile’s finger and my brother’s hand! I just love them both and pray for a cure. We are all wearing zebra ribbons since cervical cancer is teal blue and zebra.
Again, to all my prayer warrior friends, pray for Kim and Barrett and feel free to add her to any prayer list you’re a part of. I do believe prayer and faith makes one stronger during the fight and cures many!
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